Living Abroad Magazine
Lost Haggis and Disappearing Christening Cake :
British Celebrations Abroad
On May Day in certain counties in England, tradition has it that girls dance merrily round a maypole and Morris dancers clash sticks on a village green. If, however, you are in Moscow on the same day, you could find yourself watching soldiers marching to the pomp and ceremony of a big military parade. On the 5th May in Japan its children’s day -“Kodomono-hi“ - celebrated by flying kites.
Discovering how other nationalities celebrate important dates is one of the fun parts of being overseas. But what do expatriates do for their own celebrations while overseas? If you have lived for many years in the UK before your move abroad, you may want to keep up with the traditions that you know.
Birthday Parties: The British way or not?
In some catholic countries in addition to the childs birth date, it is the tradition to also celebrate the saints day that coincides with the child’s name. In others in Latin America you would be expected to host a big party for a daughter when she reaches the age of 15 - her “quinceañera.”
Alternatively you could stick to what you know and organise a very British party. One family did just that for their five year old son while living in Uruguay. They planned the usual jelly and cup cakes, tail on the donkey, games and musical chairs. The invitation read from three to five p.m. but by four thirty p.m. no other children had arrived. The poor little birthday boy was becoming distraught, the Smarties on the cupcakes were melting rapidly, and the parents began to wonder if they had done something to offend everyone. It wasn’t until around five o’clock that the other children started to arrive with parents in tow (who also expected drinks and food) that the boy’s parents then realised that they may have got it a tad wrong. In a country where the temperature rose well over 35 degrees during the day, everyone had been in siesta and nobody expected to go to a party at such a hot time. The parents didn’t make the same mistakes the following year: by then they also knew they had to buy a “piñata,“ a paper mâché figure filled with sweets - a tradition at all parties.
Christenings and Weddings
Vanessa, a British woman organised a christening for her child whilst living in France and says “Guests coming from the UK may be staying for a few days so you feel you have to organise more of an event, as they can’t all just drive home when it’s over.” She also learned the hard way of a difference in customs: “In Britain we are quite conventional in that a christening cake should really be a fruit cake, whereas in France, a christening cake could be something simple like a layer of profiteroles. In our case the French catering staff didn’t realise the importance we attach to keeping a layer of the cake and they ate it all up!”
When Debbie Keefer organised a wedding for her daughter in Switzerland the whole day was an astounding success but not without unexpected hiccups “The wedding was in Zermatt which is the most stunning location. The British guests were dressed to the nines, ladies with big hats etc and some of the men in kilts.
“The church didn’t have a full time English vicar but did operate a rotating system where a different minister flew out for a two week period, so to meet the vicar beforehand our daughter and son-in-law had to go to Warwick in England. Registering the wedding with the Swiss authorities became so complicated that in the end the wedding had to be a ‘blessing‘. The local hairdresser who we used seemed to do hairstyles from the ‘60s, but none of it really spoiled the day. We also organised a trip up a Swiss mountain the evening before and walked down with flares in the moonlight which made it magical.”
The delights of sticky toffee apples
There are some traditions that are inherently English such as Guy Fawkes night. One group of expatriates in Bern were looking forward to the delights of eating sticky toffee apples around a bonfire on November 5th, but as they were near a small airport they had to have clearance from the authorities in case a loose rocket hit a plane. They had to wait inside until the phone rang and they finally got the message “Ze skies are yours.”
Ann Breadie has organised many a Scottish Burns night in various countries and said there was a time when British Airways used to fly in haggis for free to countries with expatriates.
“On one occasion a haggis I was waiting for got lost somewhere in cargo. I spent a long time going all around Madrid airport looking for it. It turned up in the end and we had a great night: we combined the traditional Burns supper with the different nationalities reciting poetry from their own country which made it very special.”
A few tips to help with those celebrations
Mixing a blend of traditions from home and the country you are living in seems to be the compromise that many expats have found works the best.
If you want to celebrate an occasion that is typically British, invite locals along with fellow expatriates. The event can be a good talking point and helps integration.
Source companies on the internet who will send British products abroad. If you can’t find what you are after ask a friend to bring it over when on a visit, or stock up and plan ahead when you go back to Britain for a holiday.
Ask at the local tourist board for information some can provide “wedding or guest packs” full of information for guests, and local activities.
Debbie Keefer advises “Do expect that if you are organising things in a different country you cannot control everything, adaptability is the key to a good day.”
